Dear Anna, What I have to tell you is difficult to write, but I know it will be far more difficult for you to hear, and I'm so sorry. The unfinished letter is the only clue Tara and Emerson have to the reason behind their close friend Noelle's suicide. Everything they knew about Noelle - her calling as a midwife, her passion for causes, her love for her friends and family - described a woman who embraced life. Yet there was so much they didn't know. With the discovery of the letter and its heartbreaking secret, Noelle's friends begin to uncover the truth about this complex woman who touched each of their lives.

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Publisher's Summary

Dear Anna, What I have to tell you is difficult to write, but I know it will be far more difficult for you to hear, and I'm so sorry.

The unfinished letter is the only clue Tara and Emerson have to the reason behind their close friend Noelle's suicide. Everything they knew about Noelle - her calling as a midwife, her passion for causes, her love for her friends and family - described a woman who embraced life. Yet there was so much they didn't know.

With the discovery of the letter and its heartbreaking secret, Noelle's friends begin to uncover the truth about this complex woman who touched each of their lives - and the life of a desperate stranger - with love and betrayal, compassion and deceit.

I enjoyed it a lot, but not as much as the first one I read (The Secret Life of Cee Cee Wilkes) because the plot in this novel was a little over the top! After a while, I felt like I was just waiting for another twist.

I felt like there were many similarities to the first book too, so while I do intend to read more of her books, I feel like if I read another one right away they will start to feel a little formulaic.

All it was missing was the dramatic organ stings at the chapter endings. By the end of the book there wasn't a single major character I liked anymore. Nothing about it was subtle. The extent to which the two main characters missed the obvious was unbelievable. Obviously neither of them had ever read a mystery novel or watched a police procedural. The ending was the absolutely worst part. I won't spoil anything but there was one thing left in a ridiculously inappropriate place.

The story was told from the point of view of five different characters - too many to keep it from feeling like a very laborious relay race. One of the five characters was written in third person while the others were all in first. It didn't help that the same character was voiced by the worst of the narrators. (I wish I knew which one voiced which. I'd like to avoid her in the future.)

If you could sum up The Midwife's Confession in three words, what would they be?

Suspenseful in a great way and exciting! I tried guessing what would come next and was wrong EVERYTIME! lol and finally when things started to unravel I was not only at the edge of my seat with my mouth open and gasping loudly, I was at work listening to this great book and doing all that!

What did you like best about this story?

The twists you would couldnt even phantom..

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Anna- My heart went out to her.

Who was the most memorable character of The Midwife's Confession and why?

Noelle. How could one human being live with so many secrets?? Good lord, her bags were heavy.

and the assumptions built into relationships that allow you to think you know the people in your life.This book tells a mysterious tale that is spun out gently while the reader is drawn into the lives of the characters. Their stories are complex and intertwined. They became real people, and I cared about what happened next. There are many characters and plots throughout the book and it also moves around in time. Despite that, it reads easily and I did not get lost. This book rises above "Summer beach" reading (although I would totally listen to it there). I hope others enjoy the listen as much as I did.

There are multiple readers for the audio version of this book. All did a great job except the voice of the midwife. UHG! If she would have been the only reader, I wouldn't have finished listening.

This was an interesting story with lot's of little mysteries. It kept my attention and I enjoyed it.But, in the end, there were too many unanswered questions and I was left feeling unsatisfied because 2 people who needed to grovel were dead.

It was not Diane's very best book, but it was good. It took me awhile to figure out the relationships of all the characters. The ending had an unexpected twist and was the surprise that I have come to enjoy from Diane Chamberlain. I would recommend.

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